Media Cover-up Exposed! Trump’s Ohio Claims Validated as Crisis Deepens in Springfield!~Cats, Geese, Ducks, Dogs etc. being slaughtered by pagan Haitians speaking French~They’re flipping cars too!

Next News Network's RAW FEED, hosted by Gary Franchi, brings you the shocking truth about the crisis unfolding in Springfield, Ohio. What's happening in this quiet Midwestern town of 60,000 is nothing short of an invasion, with a sudden influx of 15,000 Haitian migrants turning life upside down for residents. While the mainstream media tried to fact-check this story out of existence, reality has a way of breaking through. We're talking about a crisis so severe that Governor Mike DeWine had to send in state troopers and millions in emergency funding. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The stories coming out of Springfield will make your hair stand on end. Residents are reporting disturbing incidents involving animals, from geese being hunted in broad daylight to allegations of pets disappearing. We have exclusive audio of a 911 call reporting Haitians carrying off geese and eyewitness accounts of vans full of cats. But it's not just about animals. The surge in migrants is putting immense pressure on local infrastructure and services. Health care systems are strained, housing is becoming scarce, and traffic incidents are on the rise. Governor DeWine himself admits that the sudden influx of 15,000 people into a town of 58,000 is causing major challenges. While the White House and mainstream media try to spin this as a non-issue, we're bringing you the voices of real Springfield residents. They're scared, they're angry, and they're demanding action. One resident's impassioned TikTok video exposes the fear gripping the community, a far cry from the rosy picture painted by officials. This isn't just about Springfield anymore. It's a glimpse into America's future if we don't act now. The Biden administration has opened the floodgates, and small-town America is drowning. From labor shortages to cultural clashes, the impact is far-reaching and profound. But here's the kicker – while the media was busy fact-checking Trump's debate comments, they missed the real story. Citizens are rising up, demanding action, and exposing the truth. This crisis is unfolding in real-time, and we're the only ones bringing you the unfiltered truth. URGENT: The mainstream media is working overtime to bury this story, but we won't let them. Your support is critical in our fight to expose the truth about what's happening in Springfield and towns like it across America. Don't let them silence the voices of hardworking Americans whose lives are being turned upside down. Donate now to keep Next News Network on the front lines of this crucial story: https://www.givesendgo.com/Keep-Next-... or via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaig... This isn't just news – it's a wake-up call for America. Will you answer it?

"They're Flipping Cars.." The Ohio Residents' Meeting That Went Viral | Haitians Overrun Springfield

 

Why NVIC is No Longer Associated with Dr. Joseph Mercola By Barbara Loe Fisher~Dr. Mercola was now being influenced by and taking direction from a person, who refers to himself as “the Kai” and claims to be a “psychic” channeling the voice of an “ancient and wise high-vibration entity from the causal plane(Cult)” called Bahlon.

SEE: https://rumble.com/v4z6pn0-why-nvic-is-no-longer-associated-with-dr.-joseph-mercola-by-barbara-loe-fis.html
By Barbara Loe Fisher
Published June 03, 2024 in Rights & Ethics

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This commentary clarifies why the non-profit National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is no longer associated with Dr. Joseph Mercola after his sudden defunding of NVIC in February 2024 became a recent topic of public discussion online, which spread false information about the history of that association. 

There are monuments in Washington, D.C. honoring those who have fallen defending the United States of America in wars fought to preserve freedom. Since the early 1980s, I dreamed of creating a monument honoring children who had no voice and had no choice and were injured or died from vaccines mandated by doctors waging a two-century war on microorganisms.

That dream came true on March 25, 2023 when I stood with Dr. Joseph Mercola in Cape Coral, Florida, and we unveiled the Truth and Freedom Monument that I designed with my daughter and was built and sponsored by the National Vaccine Information Center. 1 It was a day I will never forget because the event also marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of our charitable organization, an event we had postponed for a year because of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in the city.

The Truth and Freedom monument has at its center a silvered bronze angel  standing on a blue globe holding a baby. The monument features quotes  defending autonomy and civil liberties. At the top of one of the marble arches  is a quote from the Bible – “The truth will set you free” – a phrase also found in contemporary academic settings affirming freedom of thought and the power  of knowledge. 
The angel, which is represented in Judeo-Christian and other major religions, reminds us of our sacred duty to protect our children. The torch held up by the  angel’s left arm is the light of truth. The child held in the angel’s right arm symbolizes the future of humanity.

Dr. Mercola and NVIC: A 15-Year Partnership  Educating the Public

The monument was created during the COVID pandemic declaration, when freedom of speech and other civil liberties were being threatened. It was three years in the making from design to dedication, and I was grateful to Dr. Mercola for donating the beautiful outdoor space at the Mercola Market in Cape Coral, Florida, on which our monument would stand. As I have done many times over the past 15 years, I thanked him publicly for his generous donor support that helped our small charity, established in 1982 by parents of DPT vaccine injured children, to forward our mission of preventing vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and defending the ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking, which includes vaccine risk taking. 2

Between 2008 and November 2023, Dr. Joe Mercola supported the work of the National Vaccine Information Center, 3 a non-profit educational charity highly rated for transparency and integrity. 4 5 6 In 2009 at NVIC’s Fourth International Public Conference on Vaccination, I presented Dr. Mercola with NVIC’s Visionary Award. 7 NVIC was a co-founder in 2011 of the Health Liberty Coalition sponsored by Mercola.com, which included leaders of allied non-profits dedicated to promoting health freedom and raising awareness about the risks of vaccines and GMOs and mercury amalgams and fluoride in drinking water. 8

In 2019, I received Dr. Mercola’s annual Game Changer Award given to an individual “whose work stands as a great service to humanity.” 9 In 2020, at NVIC’s Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination I presented Dr. Mercola with NVIC’s Lifetime Achievement Award for “inspiring millions to take control of their health and choose more natural ways to stay healthy.”10 On NVIC’s website, Mercola.com was listed as a Partner.

At conferences, and through many co-produced video interviews and published articles, over the years Dr. Mercola and I educated the public about vaccine risks and failures and the importance of fighting for the legal right to make voluntary decisions about vaccination. I publicly defended his work and he publicly defended mine. Last fall, we talked about the unprecedented censorship we have both been subjected to online and in the media. 11

I have admired Dr. Mercola’s vision as a doctor empowering people to take control of their health. I considered him to be a friend, as well as a colleague. I was proud to work side by side in a trusted partnership with him and thankful for the generous average $300,000 per year over a span of 15 years he donated through his foundation to NVIC, which we counted on in our annual budget to help our small staff operate four websites and implement nationwide vaccine choice advocacy programs and services. 12 Because NVIC is not a for-profit business, our charity relies on donations from families, whose loved ones have been harmed by vaccines, 13 and by those, who want to have the right to make vaccine choices without being punished for the choice made; 14 and by small foundations that appreciate the fact that NVIC does not tell anyone what to do but simply empowers people with accurate, well-referenced information so they can take responsibility for the health choices they make. 15

The NVIC-Mercola Partnership is Suddenly Severed Without Explanation in March 2024

Exactly one year to the day after Dr. Mercola and I dedicated NVIC’s Truth and Freedom Monument in Cape Coral, Florida, on March 25, 2024, NVIC received an email from someone identifying herself as the new CEO of Mercola.com informing us that donations from Dr. Mercola’s Natural Health Products Research Foundation were immediately discontinued. After all the years we had worked together, 16 Dr. Mercola did not contact me by phone, email or text to explain why he suddenly chose to defund NVIC without advance warning, which impacted our fiscal year programs and services and left me with no information to give to my Board and staff.

I was stunned, hurt and confused. The only verifiable information I had about what had happened were two articles published in Natural Products Insider on Feb. 13 17 and Mar 1, 2024 18 informing readers that the Mercola.com company was under new management and that Dr. Mercola was now being influenced by and taking direction from a person, who refers to himself as “the Kai” and claims to be a “psychic” channeling the voice of an “ancient and wise high-vibration entity from the causal plane” called Bahlon. 19 20 21

THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR CHRISTIAN CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND/OR INDIVIDUALS ALREADY SAVED, OR SEEKING SALVATION IN CHRIST:

Did that person tell Dr. Mercola to walk away from our partnership and his long-standing commitment to NVIC without contacting me to explain why?

The media articles published in February and March detailed the fact that this self- identified psychic who Dr. Mercola is now consulting with had convinced him that he, Dr. Mercola, is “a god” and “the new Jesus.” 22 The articles contained references to videos and descriptions of what had taken place at the Mercola.com company in early February when Dr. Mercola without warning fired top executives, including his own sister, who helped him establish and has worked at his company for 40 years.

The harm that has been done to good people is shocking and heartbreaking.

Concerns About Religious Discrimination, “Cult Dynamics” and A Potential “Corporate Takeover”

There was evidence provided in the articles suggesting that the firings of executives were based on their “strong commitments” to Christian religious beliefs, which precluded their ability to believe in Bahlon. 23 A later article raised questions about “cult-like dynamics” involved in what one expert interviewed characterized as a potential “corporate takeover” by those now in control of the Mercola company. 24

On April 15, I contacted Dr. Mercola by email stating that the only information I had to explain the severing of our partnership was what had been published in the media indicating that his mission and philosophy had changed. I requested that I be allowed to remove NVIC’s Truth and Freedom Monument from his property. He was granted permission and the monument was removed from Mercola Market land on Sunday, April 21st and placed in storage, where the angel will stay until we find a new home.

NVIC Defends Human Rights, Including Freedom of Religion

NVIC has a long history of defending human rights, including freedom of religion. I am a Christian and Dr. Mercola knows that. Whether he chose to end his relationship with NVIC without warning or explanation because of my religious beliefs that he knows would prevent me from believing in Bahlon is an open question. Nevertheless, our Truth and Freedom monument cannot be associated with a doctor who has taken actions against people based on their religious beliefs and who receives and gives business and health advice based on directions given to him by a person claiming to be a psychic channeling an ancient entity.

NVIC Is Searching for a New Home for the Truth and Freedom Monument

The NVIC family is continuing to pray for Joe Mercola’s health and safety as we search for a new home for the Truth and Freedom Monument. We look forward to the day when our
The angel will stand on the ground where these sacred words are affirmed: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Yes, we will struggle to deal with the financial deficit that Dr. Mercola’s sudden departure has created. We will struggle to operate the NVIC Advocacy Portal established in 2010 to secure and protect medical, religious and conscientious belief vaccine exemptions and oppose the addition of more vaccine mandates, which we successfully did during the COVID pandemic declaration that saw no state legislature in the US mandate the COVID vaccine – an historic accomplishment. 25 We will struggle to retain staff and operate our four websites, NVIC.org, NVICAdvocacy.org, TheVaccineReaction.org and MedAlerts.org and our other programs and services. It will be harder to make our information available to the public, especially since NVIC has been subjected to the most censorship in the digital public square of any major vaccine education organization in America, a fact I outlined in an 80-page report on censorship that was submitted to committees in both the U.S. House and Senate. 26

With God’s grace, NVIC will find a way to continue to do this work that we have done for four decades on behalf of those who have no voice and have no choice. 27 28 During our time of need, please consider supporting the pioneering work of the National Vaccine Information Center.

It’s your health, your family, your choice.

Our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America. 

Churches Conceding to Mainstream Culture with Pastor Brandon Holthaus

Trump Stuns World with Prophetic Video Revealing He’s Been Chosen By God~Trump Messianic Video

Trump Messianic Video

Why are Churches Still Using Bethel and Hillsong Music?!?!?

Despite Controversies, Worship Leaders Keep On Choosing Hillsong and Bethel Songs

BY

SEE: https://protestia.com/2023/07/13/despite-controversies-worship-leaders-keep-on-choosing-hillsong-and-bethel-songs/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Despite the storm of scandals and controversies swirling around the bruised and battered Hillsong Church in Australia and the Bethel Church in California, worship leaders are not shying away from incorporating songs from these two megachurches into their worship sessions. 

recent study unveiled this week shows that worship leaders gravitate towards these songs not because they top the worship charts but because they have a personal connection with them, often discovered online, at conferences, or through friends’ recommendations. According to the study:

“The most influential factors in discovering a new worship song are peer endorsements and personal experiences. Worship leaders mainly trust their friends and fellow church leaders to provide them with song recommendations.”

The study draws on responses from over 400 worship leaders across the U.S. and Canada, seeking their insights on music production and their song selection process for worship. 

Demonstrating a woeful lack of discernment, a mere 16% of worship leaders admitted to being less inclined to choose a song associated with Hillsong. In comparison, 27% expressed a similar hesitancy towards songs linked to Bethel. 

On the other hand, a significant 62% confessed they were likely to pick songs from Hillsong, with a slightly lesser 48% saying they would likely opt for songs associated with Bethel. 

Three months ago, Worship Leader Research reported that four megachurches were responsible for producing and releasing nearly all the top worship songs released in the last decade, with Hillsong and Bethel being two of them. 


Top 10 Weirdest Things Hillsong Leaders Expensed to the Church  
Top 10 Most Expensive Meals Brian and Bobbie Houston Expensed to the Church 
Top 10 Luxury Hotels Hillsong Leaders Expensed to the Church (Spoiler: The Cheapest is $8457.42)

A Meltdown of Christianity as We Have Known It

By Roger Oakland (Understand the Times)

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2023/newsletter20230705.htm;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Since the turn of the millennium, in particular, since September 11, 2001, when America was attacked by terrorists triggering a global-wide spiritual paradigm shift, Christianity as we have known it has experienced a major meltdown. While many are saying Christianity is on the brink of a great revival and even a “new reformation,” in reality, we are witnessing the greatest apostasy in modern-day history.

In one word, Christianity is being redefined. Scores of pastors have chosen to abandon the Bible in favor of postmodernism (that is, what they view as progressive and culturally relevant). Light has turned into darkness. What was once believed to be true is now proclaimed to be a lie. Those who once claimed to be followers of Jesus and the Bible are now following men and their philosophies, and all without question.

Rather than reaching out to the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pastors, professors, and Bible teachers are abandoning the Bible and embracing the world. They look for ways to market what they call Christianity by incorporating sensual gimmicks that are supposed to attract the masses. Hymn books are tossed out of churches from the pews. Pews have been replaced by soft theater seats and in some cases, even include credit card terminals. Being comfortable while attending church has become the standard. Don’t mention sin or that Jesus shed His blood on the Cross to pay for our sins because that would be offensive.

The God of the Bible, who created all things according to the Book of Genesis, has been rendered to be nothing more than an ancient religious myth. The theory of evolution has become the science that proves that an explosion plus time and chance is the formula for the origin of all life.

The New Age movement has infiltrated the evangelical churches; they have been Hinduized as growing numbers of Christians think Yoga is a Christian exercise. To hear God’s voice, Christians are humming mantras, “getting centered,” or practicing the “presence of God” (i.e., eastern mystical contemplative prayers that will put your mind into a “sacred space”).

Countless Christians are overtaken with extra-biblical experiences such as getting drunk in the “Spirit” because of the “transferrable anointing.”

Have multitudes of Christians had their minds snatched by seducing demons as worldwide delusion becomes the norm? Are Christians being prepared for a great revival, or are they being seduced by another spirit?

Then there are those who are embracing the ecumenical agenda that plans to unite the Protestant church to the Roman Catholic Church and eventually unite all religions into one common body. They say the term Protestant is a word that should be retired to the past and has no significance in the church today.

Charismatic leaders claim there is no difference between the Pentecostal Jesus and the Catholic Eucharistic Christ worshiped and adored in a Roman Catholic monstrance (the container used when a priest consecrates a wafer). They have forgotten that in the past many Christians underwent torture and death over this very issue because they understood that inherent to the Eucharist is a works-based gospel offered to “another Jesus.” Or perhaps they believe these martyrs simply died for no reason at all!

And an alarming number of proclaiming Christians believe Jesus is nothing more than a cosmic “Christ” that sees all is one, and one is all. This “Jesus” is the universal Jesus of the New Age. Those who don’t believe in this “Cosmic Christ” are deemed as outdated, paranoid, intolerant, and not willing to unite with the rest of humanity to bring it into a harmonic convergence.

Then there is the charismatic bridge located on the road to ecumenical unity. It provides a connection for the gap that once existed between Roman Catholics and the separated brethren. But many of those on both sides realize that “ecumenism” to the Catholic clergy does not mean mingling but absorption; it means finding a way to get those on the Protestant side to cross over the bridge that is headed to Rome.

Some are calling for a Second Pentecost claiming that the world will turn to Christ and establish the kingdom of God here on Earth without the presence of the King. Many are on this path already, and it’s a path lined with apostles and prophets who are more than willing to point the way to go.

Further, Israel no longer has a significant place in Scripture. Jews and Israel are a problem to the “new” progressive church. Adherents of replacement theology (where the church replaces Israel) have ignored the Israel of the Bible and replaced God’s chosen people with a church that plans to establish the kingdom of God here on Earth. In other words, Christianity has been reformed, and those who refuse to accept this are standing in the way of world peace.

Bible prophesy and the warnings about apostasy are totally relegated to a museum. A one-world religion for peace is in the making. The postmodern mindset has hijacked true biblical Christianity and made God into a god of their own imagination. The Word of God has been degraded into a myth.

Churches that stress the Bible and salvation through Jesus Christ alone are being pushed to the sidelines, and the shepherds of these usually smaller churches are being pressured by anxious elder boards and congregations who want to see “success” and get with the flow. The big get bigger and the small are getting smaller. It appears that Bible-believing Christianity is on the verge of becoming next to extinct.

Scattered, Shattered, Battered, and Gathered

Nearly everyone has thought about death at some point or another. Eternity is a long time to spend in the afterlife. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and without salvation, Hell is our destiny. A person dies when the heart no longer beats and life signs such as pulse, respiration, and brain activity have ceased.

Now another significant issue is at hand. Where will you or I spend eternity? The answer to this question is very simple, but we need to make a decision regarding Jesus the Savior, the Good Shepherd. When someone accepts the free gift of eternal life, that person will live with Him forever. When you reject who He is and what He did for you at Calvary and choose some other belief system, your works are of no value. Jesus is the One whose life was sacrificed for sin. His blood was shed as the perfect sacrifice. All that is required is a willful choice to accept Him and ask for forgiveness. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). His Spirit then dwells within us.

Now here is the rub! Life is brief and like the passing wind. It comes and goes sometimes before we know it. In some cases, friends and relatives perish without warning. We should always be prepared for the final bell as there are no second chances.

Further, there are many complications. Sometimes people believe they have believed but instead are deceived. Jesus mentioned this on more than one occasion. It is actually possible to believe in the Savior intellectually in name only without knowing Him personally and trusting in Him as Lord and Savior.

Therefore, everyone should examine their personal lives carefully. Even people of spiritual stature can be deceived. This includes pastors, teachers, elders, and members of church boards. The Bible says . . . there will be those who think they are going to stand before Jesus as their Savior when instead He will turn out to be their judge, not because He is unmerciful but because they refused to hear the call of the Good Shepherd.

Following Men Instead of the Good Shepherd

History has revealed many common patterns over time. Often men and women are easily influenced. This is why the Bible equates humans with sheep and preachers with shepherds. For some unknown reason, humans are easily misled. Men and women who desire power often gather weak sheep into their folds and take advantage of them.

While the Bible makes it clear that strong leaders must be biblical, Satan knows the weakness of humans and provides apostate deceivers. Often, pastors, teachers, and evangelists are clever manipulators and use the Scriptures to trick the sheep into thinking they are sound when they are actually dangerous.

As the old adage by the poet Robert Burns states: “The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry and leave us nothing but grief and pain.” Simply speaking, following men will nearly always lead to a catastrophic end. Knowing this in advance and knowing the Bible is true, it would be best to ignore following men and be led instead by the Holy Spirit rather than driven by deceived men. A true shepherd will continually guide his flock with the Word of God and point them to the only Good Shepherd who is able to seek and to save. Like John the Baptist, he is willing to decrease that the Lord may increase. But too many shepherds want ownership of the flock, not realizing the awesome responsibility of the sacred trust they have been given.

Perhaps few have counted the cost of the disastrous results of following false shepherds. These are men who are really wolves in sheep’s clothing. Many have done untold damage as they have ravaged flocks of sheep that were once in folds. They are now scattered and forlorn. Comparatively speaking, they are like ships without a rudder and sailboats without a sail. They bob up and down on the waves of the ocean, wandering souls seeking help and counsel.

He Is Faithful

Many sheep have been scattered, shattered, and battered. Sheep without a shepherd are in the balance, and there are those who are willing to battle for the truth. The truth is the Word of God (John 17:17) states the Bible. Thy Word!

In these last days of time as we know it, is it possible that God will raise up a standard? Will the stones from the rubble and the burned gates be reconstructed so that the Gospel will go forward? Or is all hopeless, and the remnant will be snuffed out?

The biblical answer to these questions is simple. God has not forgotten His people! He never has. He is the Creator of the universe, the God who knows all things and who is omnipresent. He will raise up the standard, and He will continue to warn until the Day of Judgment. He is the God of Salvation. He is the God who loves us. Yes, apostasy is on the rise, just as the Bible predicts; but as the darkness gets darker, the light will shine brighter.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful . . . ) (Hebrews 10: 22-23)


The article above is from Roger Oakland’s book, The Good Shepherd Calls.

Nun whose body shows little decay since 2019 death draws hundreds to rural Missouri

THE WORK OF GOD, SATAN, OR THE MORTICIAN?

INSERTED INTO THE GLASS CASE LIKE A MUMMIFICATION

Sister Wilhelmina's body was reinterred in a glass display case inside the church of the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus in Gower, Missouri, on May 29, 2023. Joe Bukuras/CNA

RACIST POPE FRANCIS IS LIKELY TO DECLARE HER A SAINT TO GENERATE MORE CONVERSIONS; MEANWHILE, HIS PROPAGANDA IS BEING BROADCAST AT THE SAME TIME THE SUPREME COURT IS DECLARING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES AS REPEALED.

BIBLE QUOTES:

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ESV For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Matthew 24:24 ESV  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV  But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

1 John 4:1 ESV  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 Peter 2:1-3-False Teachers and Their Destruction

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with feigned words and making merchandise of you. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
WAS BURIED  IN THE GROUND FOR FOUR YEARS

 

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEE: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nun-whose-body-shows-little-decay-2019-death-draws-hundreds-rural-miss-rcna87080;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Some say it’s a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think.

Pictured is Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster's incorrupt body on display at a chapel in Gower, Missouri

Pictured is the nun, who died in 2019 and was exhumed on May 18

Pictured is one person who was among those flocking to Gower to see the nun's body

People pray over the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles abbey near Gower, Mo., on Sunday.Charlie Riedel / AP

The abbess of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles speaks with reporter Catherine Hadro about Sister Wilhelmina’s life and her experience when the foundresses’ remains were exhumed.

Hundreds of people flocked to a small town in Missouri this week and last to see a nun whose body has barely decomposed since 2019. Some say it’s a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think.

Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was exhumed in April, according to a statement from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in Gower, Missouri.

The nuns had been preparing for the addition of a St. Joseph shrine, and that involved “the reinterment of the remains of our beloved foundress, Sister Wilhelmina,” the statement said.

When they exhumed Lancaster, they were told to expect only bones, since she had been buried in a simple wooden coffin without any embalming four years ago.

May 31, 202301:34

Nebraska Democrat With Transgender Son in Hysterical Rant Against Republicans Trying to Protect Children

Megan Hunt becomes the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the legislature

FOUR YEARS AGO:

Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Dan Barker and Director of Governmental Affairs Mark Dann speak with Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt. Hunt is openly atheist and bisexual and was the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Nebraska legislature.

Nebraska Needs Comprehensive Sex Education

QUOTE: "My testimony at the State Board of Education hearing on the framework for K-12 health education in our state. The second draft of the standards was released in July and is a complete departure from what medical experts, education professionals, and decades of research clearly demonstrate is effective health education. The second draft significantly weakens the inclusion of medically accurate and age-appropriate essential elements—STD and pregnancy prevention, sexual orientation, gender identity, consent, and diverse family structures—resulting in a complete departure from what medical experts and decades of research clearly demonstrate is effective health education. By removing these topics, the second draft fails to align with not only best practices in the health education field but also the State Board of Education’s own Nondiscrimination and Equitable Educational Opportunities in Schools Position Statement, which states that all students should be “known, heard and supported.” The opposition wants us to teach values, but just their values. However, that is not the role of a public school system, and we have 304,000 children to keep safe, alive, and thriving. Research shows that medically and scientifically accurate sex education decreases the number of teen pregnancies, decreases the incidence of abortion, and delays the average age when students begin engaging in sexual activity."

Interview with Freedom From Religion Foundation

Megan Hunt: Champion of the First Amendment Awardee by FFRF

Ban Religious Indoctrination Camps! Senator Megan Hunt on the attacks on LGBTQ, Drag Queens & Trans

Ban Religious Indoctrination Camps! Senator Megan Hunt on the attacks on LGBTQ, Drag Queens & Trans Why did Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt amend a bill to ban children from attending “religious indoctrination” camps? Amber gets the chance to ask her! You won't what to miss what she has to say on this subject. Senator Megan Hunt is a small business owner, community activist, and mother first elected to the Nebraska State Legislature in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 to represent District 8; becoming the first LGBTQ+ person ever elected to the Legislature, and the first woman ever from the district. A sixth-generation Nebraskan, Megan has lived and worked in the district for the past 18 years. Megan founded Hello Holiday, a community-facing boutique and e-commerce company in 2012. Today, she is the owner of a stationary shop in Benson. Senator Hunt currently sits on five committees in the Legislature; Business and Labor, Urban Affairs, Government, Military and Veterans Affairs, Committee on Committees, and State-Tribal Relations. The opportunity for public service through elective office opened for her in 2015 when Hunt’s public school district was considering a new comprehensive sex education curriculum to educate students about sexual health, consent, and healthy relationships. Since then, she has remained committed to uplifting the voices of the marginalized and forgotten. Megan is passionate about public education, reproductive justice and gender equity, workforce development, and reducing the brain drain in the Midwest. Since taking office, she has worked with other senators from across the state to tackle food stamp reform, tenants’ rights, access to healthcare, and affordable housing in Nebraska. Megan has introduced 45 bills and cosponsored 131 bills, 46 of which passed with bipartisan support and were signed by the Governor. Megan is the founder and Vice President of Safe Space Nebraska, a 501(c)3 working to end harassment and assault in nightlife establishments. She is a trustee of the Business Ethics Alliance and has served on the boards of Charles Drew Health Center, Friends of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Friends of the Nebraska AIDS Project, and Omaha Area Youth Orchestras. Megan’s work and impact have been featured in dozens of publications including Forbes, INC, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and others. In acknowledgment of her legislative efforts, she has been awarded the Henry Toll Fellowship, David Bohnett Leaders Fellowship, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Leadership Award, and CSG’s Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development Fellowship, among others. As a business owner, community leader, and parent, Megan has worked with commitment and discipline to help people from all walks of life prosper in our state. Her track record stems from her belief that the more everyday Nebraskans are empowered and supported to improve their quality of life, the easier it is for all of us to live the good life in the Cornhusker State.

Nebraska Legislature: Sen. Megan Hunt speaks about gender-affirming care

Sen. Megan Hunt addresses a would-be ban on gender-affirming care for minors in Nebraska. She revealed on the floor that her son is transgender and plans to filibuster the bill and other bills to keep it from passing.

We Cannot Codify Hate in Our State Laws

QUOTE: "LB574, introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth, represents an extreme government intrusion into the private lives of families. Lawmakers have no place in legislating healthcare or discriminating against LGBTQ+ youth. We cannot enshrine this lack of safety into our laws which will only contribute to higher levels of suicide, substance abuse, and physical abuse."

BY RICK MORAN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2023/03/25/nebraska-democrat-with-trans-son-in-hysterical-rant-against-republicans-trying-to-protect-children-n1681392;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Nebraska Democratic state Sen. Megan Hunt is on a crusade. And she wants everyone to know it.

Hunt has decided to filibuster the last two and a half months of the Nebraska legislative session to block the passage of a bill that would prevent “gender-affirming care” for minors. Listening to Hunt, who has a transgender “son,” you might think the GOP was planning mass murder.

The bill would ban gender surgeries and the prescription of hormones to minors. But for Hunt and other Nebraska Democrats, the bill is going to murder children.

“I will burn the session to the ground over this bill,” warned state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh.

Hunt and her colleagues were just getting warmed up.

“If this bill passes, all your bills are on the chopping block, and the bridge is burned,” Hunt warned the chamber.

“We have made it clear that this is the line in the sand,” Hunt said to lawmakers on Thursday.

“People have said, ‘What if we go after your bills? What if we put a bunch of bills introduced by progressives up on the agenda? Are you going to filibuster those, too?’ Yes, because we’re not like you,” Hunt explained. “We have a principle and a value that actually matters that much to us that we’re willing to stand up for.”

Related: Rachel Levine Says That Medically Changing Children’s Gender Will Soon Be Normalized

Are we allowed to look at such nobility, such greatness in the eye? Perhaps we should have the Republicans in the Nebraska legislature knee-walk into the chamber while averting their gaze?

Apparently not.

“Don’t say hi to me in the hall, don’t ask me how my weekend was, don’t walk by my desk and ask me anything. Don’t send me Christmas cards ― take me off the list,” Hunt warned. “No one in the world holds a grudge like me, and no one in the world cares less about being petty than me. I don’t care. I don’t like you.”

Oh, sure. I’ll take her name off my Christmas card list right away, you bet.

The topper may have come when another Democratic female legislator broke down in tears after reading a letter from a psychologist.

Salon:

On Wednesday, Day cried in the chamber while reading a letter from a psychologist who said the bill “will result in the deaths of transgender and gender diverse adolescents, likely before the end of the school year.”

“I want all of you to go into the rotunda and look into the eyes of those parents and tell them that you’re voting for this bill knowing that it could potentially kill their child,” Day said with tears.

Sen. John Fredrickson, the first openly gay man elected to the Nebraska Legislature, also cried in the chamber before reading a letter from a constituent who said that without gender-affirming care, her son would likely have taken his own life as a teenager.

Just as an aside: there is no evidence that “gender-affirming care” improves the mental health of children. Teens are usually suffering from comorbidities unrelated to gender dysphoria and are still at risk even if they receive treatment.

But inconvenient facts like that can be ignored in service to the greater good. The fact is, Megan Hunt is a new kind of radical nutcase. A small-minded, bitter, closed-off white woman. If I were the Nebraska child services, I would investigate her to determine how much she influenced her “son’s” gender dysphoria.

This is a woman looking for a cause, and she has apparently found it.

Stanford Law School Descends Into Barbarism

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Tirien Steinbach, the Stanford University Law School associate dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, slams U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan during his presentation at the school as an invited guest on March 9, 2023.

Blood-boiling moment woke Stanford law school students taunt conservative judge invited to speak there - before dean of 'equity' ambushes him with pious speech accusing him of 'harm'

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/culture/robert-spencer/2023/03/11/stanford-law-school-descends-into-barbarism-n1677480;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

America, these are your lawyers of tomorrow. When the Federalist Society at Stanford Law School, one of the nation’s most elite law schools, invited Fifth Circuit appellate judge Stuart Kyle Duncan to speak, the budding attorneys could have had a thoughtful discussion of controversial issues with someone who doesn’t share their point of view. Duncan drew Leftist ire in 2020 when he refused to pretend that a male sex offender was a woman, as he had claimed to be. He has also taken other positions that are simple sanity but are represented today as “conservative.” Instead of engaging Duncan in a lively debate, however, Stanford’s future lawyers became a howling, slavering mob, refusing to allow Duncan to speak as the school’s associate dean of diversity (yes, really) lectured him for daring not to be a Leftist. These people will soon be lawyers, and then, God help us.Tirien Steinbach, Stanford’s associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, is captured on video acting anything but “inclusive” toward Duncan. But of course, we all know that when Leftists speak about “inclusion,” they mean the inclusion of people of all races (except whites), all genders (all 73 of ‘em), and all beliefs that are thoroughly Leftist and in line with contemporary Leftist sensibilities. Diversity is sought after, prized, and celebrated, except for diversity of thought, which is to be vehemently rejected.

And so when Duncan, facing the mob of alleged law students, asked Steinbach to restore order, she then took to the podium and began lecturing the judge, saying: “Your opinions from the bench land as absolute disenfranchisement” of the rights of students. When Duncan tried to respond, the mob screamed, “Let her finish,” a courtesy they never accorded to Duncan himself. Steinbach went on to repeat, “Your work has caused harm.”

Steinbach even accused Duncan of “tearing the fabric of this community” and asked him, “Do you have something so incredibly important to say about Twitter and guns and COVID that is worth this impact on the division of these people, who have sat next to each other for years, who are going through what is the battle of law school together?” About the mob’s refusal to let Duncan speak, Steinbach declared, “I look out and I don’t ask what is going on here, I look out and I say, I’m glad this is going on here.” She then left, to tumultuous applause, and the students walked out behind her.

Duncan is mincing no words about what happened. The protesters, he said in a Washington Free Beacon interview that was published Friday, acted like “dogs**t.” He wants Stanford to discipline the students who wouldn’t allow him to speak and to fire Steinbach for what he described as her “bizarre therapy session from hell.” But Steinbach’s job is likely secure. While Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez claimed that the disruption of Duncan’s speech was “not aligned with our institutional commitment to freedom of speech,” she said nothing even about any students, much less Steinbach, getting disciplined.

Related: Stanford’s ‘Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative’ Is Unintentionally Hilarious

What’s more, Martinez’s claim that Stanford has a commitment to the freedom of speech is risible. When I spoke at Stanford in 2017, the Stanford student press conducted a weeks-long smear campaign in the run-up to the event. Then, at the event itself, I had spoken for just a few moments when the students got up and walked out en masse; video showed that Nanci Howe, associate dean and director of Student Activities and Leadership, and Snehal Naik, who was then assistant dean and associate director of Student Activities and Leadership and is now senior director of the Office of Student Engagement, engineered the walkout. All these years later, Naik is still at it; he is shown prominently in the video of Steinbach hectoring Duncan as the fascist mob howls.

Stanford students even point to the disruption of my event as a model that students should follow. As recently as March 3, the Stanford Review published an article entitled “Apathy Descends on Stanford,” which hailed the efforts to prevent me from speaking as a high point in Stanford’s recent history: “Even just five years ago, people seemed to actually care. When the Stanford College Republicans (SCR) invited Robert Spencer, a self-proclaimed Islamophobe,” (that was ironic, genius), “to speak about radical Islam on campus in 2017, he was met with wide-scale protest by the campus left, to the extent that President Marc Tessier-Levigne addressed the tension in a blog post. SCR was equally dedicated, going through dorms to flyer numerous times to combat their opponents’ efforts to tear the flyers down.” The Stanford Left is proud of what it has done and is still doing to prevent those whom it hates and fears from speaking. There is no respect, at what is supposed to be an institution of higher learning, for the importance of the freedom of speech as the foundation of any free society. These people are authoritarians to the core.

Duncan warned that worse was to come: “If enough of these kids get into the legal profession, the rule of law will descend into barbarism.” Oh, yes.

Pope Francis: “Proselytizing is something pagan, not evangelical, not Christian”

Pope Francis Calls Catholics to Seek the Lost "Without Proselytism"

Pope Francis I

The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I Hashem am your God.

Leviticus19:34 (the Israel bible)

BY Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz

SEE: https://www.israel365news.com/365692/pope-francis-proselytizing-is-something-pagan-not-evangelical-not-christian/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, addressed crowds gathered for his weekly general audience that convincing someone from another religion to become Christian is a “pagan” practice.

“To evangelize is not to proselytize,” the pope told crowds gathered in the Vatican for his weekly general audience. “To proselytize is something pagan, it is neither religious nor evangelical.”

Quoting the late Pope Benedict XVI, who died Dec. 31, Pope Francis said that “the church does not proselytize, but rather she grows by ‘attraction’” to the beauty of God’s love.

Evangelization “does not begin by seeking to convince others, but by bearing witness each day to the love that has watched over us and lifted us back up,” he said.

“This is not about proselytism, as I said so that others become ‘one of us’ – no, this is not Christian,” he reiterated. “It is about loving so that they might be happy children of God.”

The pontiff has spoken against proselytizing several times. In the first year of his papacy, in an October 2013 interview with La Repubblica, he said, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense … I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God, there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation.”

In an interview with Spanish language news outlet Mundo Negro back in mid-December, which was published on January 13, Pope Francis acknowledged that he initially became a Jesuit to go as a missionary to Japan.

“I see that the Catholic Mission is not a proselytizer, but announces the Gospel according to the culture of each place,” the Pope said. “Catholicism is that, respecting cultures.”

“A missionary goes, respects what is found in each place, and helps to create harmony,” he added. “But it does not engage in ideological or religious proselytism, much less colonialism….the most serious sin that a missionary can have is proselytism. Catholicism is not proselytizing.”

Pope Francis has specifically forbidden attempts to convert Jews. In December 2015, the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews released a document instructing Catholics not to try to convert Jews and should, instead, work with them to fight anti-Semitism. The document emphasized that the two religions were intertwined and that God had never annulled his covenant with the Jewish people.

“The Church is therefore obliged to view evangelization (spreading Christianity) to Jews, who believe in the one God, in a different manner from that to people of other religions and world views,” it said.

“A Christian can never be an anti-Semite, especially because of the Jewish roots of Christianity,” it said.

The document coincided with the 50th anniversary of a Vatican repudiation of the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus’ death and the launch of a theological dialogue that traditionalists have rejected.

 

 

The Warning Christians Critically Need: Bethel, New Age, and the New Apostolic Reformation.

 

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a popular and fast-growing new movement of Christians who emphasize signs and wonders and teach that God is giving a new revelation through new apostles and prophets. But is this biblical Christianity? This stuff used to be fringe. Now it's probably in your church in some way. Why is this dangerous, and how can you spot it? I talk with Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett, the authors of Counterfeit Kingdom, about this concerning movement.

Help Your Kids Think Critically

I got the great privilege to interview Elizabeth Urbanowicz, the founder of Foundation Worldview, about the tools she and her team have created to teach our kids critical thinking and life skills. I LOVE this stuff! Foundation Worldview is a Comparative Worldview Curriculum for kids and teens. Several years into Elizabeth's teaching experience, she realized that despite being raised in Christian homes, attending a Christian school, and being active in church, her students thought more like the culture than like Christ. So she did something about it! I ask her about this curriculum, discuss my personal interest in it, ask about parents that might feel discouraged, and overall how and why it's important to teach our kids -now more than ever!- about truth and critical thinking. Elizabeth's interview with Alisa Childers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7PmX... Elizabeth's Interview with Mike Winger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxog0... Elizabeth's Information: Website for Curriculum: https://foundationworldview.com/

Is it Harmful to Not Affirm Someone's Chosen Identity?

Otherkin, gender fluid, Trans-species, transgender... and everything in between. A question that people have asked me about this is… so what? Who is this hurting? People just live their lives and are just doing what makes them happy. Why do I care to speak out against something like this when people are just living their truth? And I have to say that this is a fair question. If we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize what's true. I address this and more in this video. RESOURCES: https://www.amazon.com/shop/melissado... Irreversible Damage : The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters by Abigail Shrier: https://amzn.to/3Dny7fe

If There is no Free Speech, There is no Real Thought

We're finding more and more people embracing blatant lies thinking it's the high moral ground. As language becomes less expressive, minds are more easily controlled. Apathy makes people prefer the false peace of conformity to the tensions of liberty. Whatever and whoever has the power can pressure you into believing their version of truth.... even if they're flat-out lies. Anyone who opposes this is viewed as backward and ignorant. We live in a world where there is more and more intense social pressure to accept that there is no such thing as objective truth. There's only power. Whoever holds the power decides what is true and false. The value of truth claims depends on who's making them. More and more people are knowingly believing lies out of fear of opposing them. In possibly one of my favorite interviews I've done so far, Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason addresses free speech and what this really means.

Critical Race Theory, BLM, Equity, Inclusion, Whiteness, and Beyoncé With Monique Duson

Monique Duson, who spent two decades advocating for Critical Race Theory and is the founder of the Center for Biblical Unity, joins me to discuss BLM, microaggressions, marxism, equity, inclusion, and MUCH more. Monique breaks down the movements we're seeing in social justice, and she explains how it differs from the Gospel. We both see that racism is a serious issue. But CRT is not the answer. You can't become a gaslighting racist to get rid of racism. This isn't about politics. It's about what Biblical justice and unity look like in the eyes of God. Hope you have your popcorn. We don't hold back.

Out of Astrology, Tarot, Crystals, Spirits, and the Occult... Into Jesus: With Angela Ucci

Angela Ucci is a former New Age Astrologist. She was into every facet of the New Age, including tarot, moon worship, mediumship, crystal energies, the Law of Attraction, and much more. Her journey is filled with hills and valleys that ultimately led her to the last thing she expected: Jesus.

 

Washington D.C. Is a Den For Demons

Demonic influence is not like what Hollywood puts in its movies. Most people are in a spiritual battle, but many don’t put up a fight.

SEE: https://rumble.com/v23oypg-washington-d.c.-is-a-den-for-demons.html

Video Sources:

1. InfoWars.com – US Virgin Islands Sues JPMorgan Chase, Claims Bank ‘Pulling The Levers’ Of Epstein Trafficking Network

2. Associated Press – Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

3. LiveNOW from FOX – FBI Over Wiretapping Donald Trump and lying to FISA Courts

4. Fox News – Exclusive look at FBI raid on Roger Stone’s home

5. CBC News – Rainbow White House celebrates same-sex marriage ruling

MANNY SILVA, CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: Followup- HERETIC Thomas Oord’S Entire Response To Accusations

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Within the theological structure of the cults there is considerable truth, all of which, it might be added, is drawn from biblical sources, but so diluted with human error as to be more deadly than complete falsehood.”  ― Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults

Recently, I sent you all an email with a brief list of quotes of Thomas Oord, highlighting some of his heretical beliefs.

In spite of this evidence in his own words, the Intermountain District failed to remove his credentials as an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene.

I believe this speaks volumes even more about the General Superintendents and the leaders of the denomination, and their abdication of a duty to defend the faith.

Below is the complete document written by Oord in his defense. I have highlighted in red what I believe are some of the most egregious comments.

There will be more shocking news later on, because Mr. Oord is one of the people who is actively and openly pushing for acceptance of same-sex marriage in the denomination.

For those who are still active members in the Church of the Nazarene, what do you think of this? What should be done? How far will these things be allowed to go?

(The document is also attached as a pdf).

Thomas Jay Oord’s Response to Accusations

 Brought by Signatories Outside the Intermountain District

but Reformulated by an Intermountain District Board

by Thomas Jay Oord

(Some text is highlighted in red for emphasis (Manny Silva)
What follows are my responses to questions listed at the conclusion of this document. The questions were formulated by a committee from the Church of the Nazarene’s Intermountain District after considering six broad accusations against me made by a group of 10 or so signatories. The people in this accusing group are not members of the Intermountain District but sent their accusations to District Superintendent Scott Shaw. After he talked with General Superintendent Fili Chambo, Shaw moved forward with the proceedings.

Superintendent Shaw met with me in November 2021 to relay the original charges. He explained the process and asked what I wanted to do. I said I would face the accusations and undergo the hearing/trial as laid out in the Manual. Superintendent Shaw said he’d choose the committee to hear my case, evaluate my written response, and receive my verbal defense on a date to be determined. He thereafter assembled a district committee and appointed Assistant District Superintendent Brent Deakins as the chair.

To my mind, the charges against me divide into two parts. One part is theological. The other is about social ethics, specifically the denomination’s stance on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) people outlined in Covenant of Christian Conduct in “Human Sexuality and Marriage.”

The committee assigned to my case wisely set aside most theological charges leveled by the accusing group. Those charges revealed a lack of understanding of how the Wesleyan-holiness tradition thinks about salvation, God’s love, other religious traditions, and more. The accusing signatories fail to understand the range of acceptable beliefs in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition and the Church of the Nazarene.

Because I consider the theological charges without basis, I’ll address them first and rather briefly. I’ll deal with questions about LGBTQ people and the denomination’s view of Human Sexuality and Marriage later. I regard the latter issues as the primary reasons I am undergoing this hearing/trial. Those issues provide an opportunity to explain the meaning and primacy of love in the Wesleyan-holiness theology that undergirds the Church of the Nazarene.

Theological Concerns

The Church of the Nazarene’s Articles of Faith

I appreciate, embrace, affirm, and endorse the Articles of Faith in the Church of the Nazarene.

Occasionally, I am asked why I chose to be ordained in the Church of the Nazarene and choose to remain thirty years after my ordination ceremony. I respond that I’m compelled by the Wesleyan theology undergirding the denomination’s articles of faith. No set of statements can perfectly express all one wants to say about God, of course, and the articles are constantly being revised. I appreciate, embrace, affirm, and endorse the Articles of Faith in the Church of the Nazarene. I have no issues with them and see my views as aligned with the articles.

Part of question three below asks, “How do you deal with any discrepancies between your teaching (in public comments, blog posts, conference speaking engagements, etc.) and your harmonious support of the COTN Articles of Faith?” In my view, there are no discrepancies, so I regard the question as misinformed.

My accusers apparently interpret the articles differently than I do. My beliefs and teachings do not align with their views. But I do not see my teaching as leading to discrepancies about valid interpretations of the articles. And many scholars in the Church of the Nazarene interpret the articles in the way I do, especially those with extensive theological education.

I believe my accusers do not sufficiently understand what it means to embrace the Wesleyan-holiness theology that undergirds the Articles of Faith in the Church of the Nazarene. For example, I make statements about truth in other religious traditions that trouble my accusers. Our Wesleyan theology of prevenient grace, however, supports God’s work in religions other than Christianity. The beauty of the Wesleyan tradition is it’s understanding that God’s love and truth aren’t reserved for just a few; they are available to all. I consider the claims of Christianity, however, more true and more winsome than those of other religious traditions. That’s the major reason I choose to be a Christian.

Or take my view of the afterlife. My accusers apparently do not understand my stance on this subject and have consequently misrepresented me. They seem not to realize the possibility that no one will be “finally impenitent,” to use the statement in the Manual. Wesleyan-holiness people believe God wants to save all. I reject the idea that God forces everyone into heaven. I’m not what many call a “classic universalist,” because of my view of creaturely freedom, another Wesleyan emphasis. Scripture and the Manual leave open the possibility that God’s love will ultimately redeem all creatures through loving persuasion. The Church of the Nazarene is optimistic about the power of God’s grace.

Believing God Exists

I believe God exists. I’m exceedingly surprised by this question.

I’m not certain God exists, however. I doubt anyone can be 100% certain, although I admit some people claim to be. Even if certainty about God’s existence is possible, the Manual doesn’t require anyone to attain this state of confidence.

Throughout history, Christians have typically steered clear of claiming to be certain about God. We talk instead about having faith. Christians are believers, not “certainers,” to coin a word.

I don’t advocate blind faith, however, and I often argue against it. There are good reasons to believe God exists. The phrases I use to describe my stance are that I “reasonably trust” God exists or think God’s existence is “more plausible than not.” Those phrases, in my way of thinking, point to good arguments, evidence, and experiences that indicate God exists… requiring no one to be certain.

Incidentally, most people I talk to about this issue find immense encouragement after hearing they can have genuine doubts about God and yet be faithfully Christian. My statement, “I’m not certain,” offers them hope. They’re relieved to discover Phineas Bresee’s words that “Faith isn’t the absence of doubt; it’s choosing to believe, despite doubt.”

Jesus and God

Christians have throughout the centuries tried to discern how to make sense of Jesus’ relation to God. Some scripture passages say Jesus has a unique relationship with the One he calls “Abba.” Biblical writers, over and again, say Jesus reveals God, and I strongly affirm this. In this sense, I believe Jesus is divine. I stand with Scripture and the Manual.

We Christians have various theories for why Jesus did not have the attributes we think characterize God. One that I’ve cited in many writings says those attributes were set aside in the incarnation. Often, Philippians 2 is the basis for this theory, and I’ve written extensively about this. It fits what I and other scholars call a “Spirit Christology:” Jesus responded perfectly to the Spirit and revealed God’s nature of love. A Trinitarian model that says God is revealed in Jesus makes the most sense to me.

Nearly all Christians think God is omnipresent and omniscient, by which we mean God is present to all creation and God knows all that’s possible to know. But Jesus clearly was not omnipresent. And he lacked complete knowledge, illustrated by the questions he often asked and statements made (e.g., “Who touched me?” “No one knows the day and hour, except the Father”). Simply saying “Jesus is God” can be easily interpreted as meaning Jesus was also omnipresent or omniscient, which, according to the Bible, he was not.

I don’t recall the specifics of the conversation with Michael McElyea noted in question 4c below.
I suspect my point in the exchange was simply to say that while Jesus reveals God, he did not have all the attributes many Christians claim God has. But more importantly, I see no conflict between my views and the Manual’s statements on Jesus.

I affirm the Article of Faith on Jesus.

Sexuality Concerns

I have for decades worked for changes in the Church of the Nazarene’s statements on LGBTQ people, their identities, and sexual practices. In my view, the denominational statements do not reflect well the love at the heart of Wesleyan-holiness theology. I was happy about the progress made in the recent General Assembly rewriting of the “Marriage and Sexuality” statement. But I believe more changes are needed.

My desire to see changes in the Manual comes from my love for God, for members of the Church of the Nazarene, for LGBTQ people, and for the friends and family of LGBTQ people. I think God is pleased by healthy LGBTQ sexual practices and God affirms nonheteronormative identities. I think the Church of the Nazarene ought to imitate God’s love by being pleased in the same way.

I am one among a sizable number of members of the Church of the Nazarene who are LGBTQ affirming. I say a “sizable number” because I don’t know the exact total. Most affirming members are reluctant to say so in public, although many divulge their beliefs to me in private. By “LGBTQ affirming,” I mean many members of the Church of the Nazarene believe non-heterosexual (e.g., Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) orientation, identity, and sexual behavior (expressed in a covenant relationship) are compatible with authentic Christian faith.

As evidence for this claim, I rely upon the Pew Research Center. A 2007 Pew poll showed that 31% of those who identify with the Church of the Nazarene thought society should accept homosexuality. That percentage jumped to 40% by 2014. I suspect the percentage is higher today, but Pew has not released current numbers.

Assuming the USA Church of the Nazarene has around 600,000 members, the Pew polls suggest that 200,000+ US Nazarenes hold views about LGBTQ matters similar to mine. From my conversations with pastors and laity on the Intermountain District, I believe the percentage of affirming people on the district is higher. Even if these polls and estimates are off several percentage points, it remains the case that a sizable number of members of the denomination think society should accept LGBTQ people and their behaviors. Every person I know who thinks society should accept LGBTQ also thinks the denomination should accept it. They have the same standard for love in the church and society.

A Barna Report indicates that 46% of practicing Christians under the age of 40 want more laws to protect Same-Sex Marriage and LGBTQ rights. This is not the same as saying LGBTQ is compatible with Christian faith, of course, but most who want protections and rights are also LGBTQ affirming. In other words, they think about these matters much like I do. The two major takeaways from that Barna report are 1) American Christians are becoming increasingly accepting of LGBTQ people and their sexual behavior, and 2) younger American Christians are more accepting than older Americans.

Based on the Pew and Barna polls and my own interactions, I suspect most US Nazarene youth want the Church of the Nazarene’s views on LGBQT issues to change. And from my time speaking in Europe, I believe the percentage of European Nazarene youth who want change is even higher. If the views of the young eventually become the views of the majority, the Church of the Nazarene will undergo change in the coming decades. We have revised many topics in the Covenant of Christian Conduct over the past century; we should expect and welcome changes related to LGBTQ issues.

My experience speaking at nearly every Church of the Nazarene higher educational institution in the US and many Nazarene institutions overseas tells me that most university students and faculty are LGBTQ-affirming. Many talk to me about these matters in private, fearing accusations and the treatment I’m currently undergoing. They want a safe forum without fear of reprisal to make their case for full LGBTQ inclusion in the Church of the Nazarene.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Many people – especially young people and including some pastors – leave the Church of the Nazarene because of its current stance on LGBTQ people. A 2008 poll of twenty religions/denominations said the holiness tradition – of which the Church of the Nazarene is the largest denomination -- is the worst of all religious groups at retaining young people. Only 32% of Nazarene youth remain with the denomination. A similar poll in 2015 showed no change in this rate of exit.

Some members who want changes on LGBTQ issues ask my advice on whether they should stay or leave. I counsel them on a case-by-case basis. Some leave to become Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, or something else. I respect their decisions, and I wish them well.

Some stay. Despite thinking the denomination’s view of human sexuality is unloving, unbiblical, or just out of touch, some LGBTQ-affirming youth, pastors, scholars, and leaders remain with the Church of the Nazarene. I respect those decisions too.

Why do some stay, despite disagreeing with the Manual on LGBTQ matters? Here are the reasons I often hear…

  1. Family and Friendship

Many LGBTQ-affirming members of the denomination have strong friendship and family ties to people in the Church of the Nazarene. Rather than think beliefs and rules are primary for membership, they think of the denomination as a family or intimate community. As you know, this way of thinking about the church has strong biblical support.

This approach assumes people are more important than rules. Besides, do you leave a family just because other members hold beliefs that you don’t… especially when so many of your siblings believe as you do? Friendship and family are more important than rules and regulations.

Changing Groups

Some who remain are students of denominational history. The Church of the Nazarene has changed its views on many issues, especially issues in the Code of Christian Conduct. Divorce is now considered appropriate in some cases, for instance, although it’s still mentioned in the Code alongside same-sex marriage. Jewelry is commonplace today, but was once condemned. Few members today think twice about going to the theater or circus, but these practices were forbidden in the 1928 Manual. The denomination has changed its mind on dancing, movies, and many other topics in the Covenant of Christian Conduct.

Denominational leaders also realize context matters. In some African contexts, we tolerate polygamy among Church of the Nazarene members. In some European contexts, members consume alcohol with no fear of repercussion. Divorce no longer carries the stigma among US Nazarenes it once did.

Groups change, including denominational groups. Why think the Church of the Nazarene will keep its current stance on LGBTQ? We made positive strides at the recent General Assembly to alter the denomination’s official view. But we need more changes for the Church of the Nazarene to become fully LGBTQ-affirming. Many stay expecting that eventually change will come, hopefully sooner rather than later. The optimism of grace leads me to believe the denomination will eventually see that love calls it to embrace and affirm LGBTQ people.

Loving Experience

Others believe the denomination’s theology implies that LGBTQ people and their loving practices ought to be affirmed. Like me, some cite love as the core of the holiness message. Others consider religious experience vital for discerning authentic Christian faith. They know LGBTQ people who have vibrant Christian testimonies.

Those who oppose LGBTQ people and activity often reference seven or eight biblical verses to support their view. Biblical scholars, theologians, and Christian ethicists have written massive tomes on this material. Many argue those verses either apply to ancient practices not identical to contemporary LGBTQ issues or those verses reflect cultural biases of their day. The biblical witness to sex and marriage is complex.

Many people in the Church of the Nazarene already endorse this general approach to biblical interpretation when defending the full status of women in ministry. In fact, we could cite more biblical passages that relegate women to subservient roles than verses condemning LGBTQ people and behavior. And yet the Church of the Nazarene rightly privileges Scriptures that support full status for women in ministry and equality in marriage. Many of the passages cited call for love and equality for all people. Love and lived experience matter, and we should use this hermeneutic for LGBTQ concerns.

The Theological Difference

 Other members of the Church of the Nazarene ask me if they should leave because of theological differences with the denomination. Those differences are not with the Human Sexuality and Marriage statements; they disagree with the Articles of Faith. I tell them the articles were not handed down from heaven, and each allows for a range of interpretations. The articles have also changed over time, at least to some degree. Articles 15 and 16 are currently going through a major overhaul, and the future will bring more changes.

Many say their theological views differ drastically from the articles. Some believe, for instance, the denomination’s view on biblical inerrancy is too soft. They want a Manual statement that affirms absolute biblical inerrancy. Others think the Articles are at odds with the sovereignty of God. They believe God is in control and we have no freedom to do other than what God decides. Some think the Articles of Faith are wrong about hell, original sin, women in ministry, sanctification as transformation, or something else.

In these conversations, I realize some members of the denomination actually want a Calvinist or Catholic theology. Or something else. So I lovingly tell them to consider joining another community.

Am I wrong to encourage some to leave but encourage some LGBTQ-affirming members to stay?

I don’t think so. As I see it, the essential theology of the Church of the Nazarene is compatible with believing LGBTQ people are welcome in the denomination. Here’s what I mean:

The core of our holiness message is love. “Love” doesn’t mean, “we accept any behavior or beliefs whatsoever.” It means we want the well-being of others. We seek the transformation of ourselves and all creation. Some LGBTQ behavior – including same-sex marriage – can promote well-being. It’s good and healthy; it represents the values of the Kingdom of God. The transformation God desires rarely if ever requires LGBTQ people to change their sexual orientation, identity, or loving behavior.

Let me put this another way: LGBTQ people can live Christlike lives. Some of the most loving people I know are not heteronormative. Living Christlike lives is the holiness gospel, and some LGBTQ people act like Christ. They love like Jesus loved. And their identity or behavior as LGBTQ people is not an obstacle to their being Christlike.

Love calls us to be faithful in our partnering commitments. Those who commit to monogamy – whether heterosexual or same-sex marriage – are called to be faithful to God, their partner, and the Kingdom. If the Church of the Nazarene – as people who seek purity – wants to encourage loving faithfulness and discourage promiscuity, it ought to endorse same-sex marriage. The denomination also ought to lead the way in advocating for transgender people. It ought to recognize the variation of attraction experienced by bisexual people. And so on.

As those who care for the marginalized, Nazarenes ought to be allies for LGBTQ people rather than adversaries.

My Role as a Licensed Minister and Thought Leader

Some questions at the conclusion of this document come from the district committee and not from the original charges against me. These questions pertain to how I see my role as an acting minister and thought leader in the Church of the Nazarene.

One set of questions asks about officiating same-sex marriages. Given what I’ve said above, it will come as no surprise that I look forward to the day the denomination endorses same-sex marriage. If members of the Church of the Nazarene truly believe in sexual purity, they ought to encourage lifelong sexual partnerships in marriage. The holiness message ought to compel members of the denomination to support same-sex marriage.

I have never officiated a same-sex marriage, and I have no plans to do so. But if one of my daughters was a lesbian and wanted me to officiate her marriage to her lesbian partner, I’d do it in a heartbeat. If needed, I’d officiate the ceremony as a layperson and ask the couple to get an official marriage endorsement from a state official. But I love my children and think this love far exceeds any commitment I have to a statement in the Covenant of Christian Conduct I think needs changing. I hope all clergy would privilege love for their children over denominational rules, even if it comes at personal cost. And if they would, they likely understand much of the LGBTQ logic I’m presenting here.

 I do not think ordained elders should surrender their credentials if they officiate a same-sex wedding. Our allegiance is first to God and the love to which God calls. But because most members in the Church of the Nazarene currently do not think about same-sex weddings the way I do, I’d encourage the Nazarene elder who wants to officiate a same-sex ceremony to do so and subsequently have it endorsed by some other person or agency. Or do so with a minister of another Christian denomination. I give this advice with a sad heart, however, believing that on this issue, those outside the Church of the Nazarene are more in tune with the Spirit’s leading.

The final set of questions asks about my personal beliefs and the denomination’s. It asks if I support the denomination and whether I’m in “hearty accord” with the statement on human sexuality. I strongly support the denomination; I love the people who comprise this community. I’ve given much of my time, emotional energy, and resources to help the Church of the Nazarene broadly and to help individual members specifically. To use the language of the Apostle Paul, I have “poured myself out” sacrificially for this body of believers.

I heartily support and believe myself to be in accord with the Articles of Faith. But I think the denomination’s statement of human sexuality should evolve. I will continue working to see changes made. That will mean speaking against current denominational practices and ideas I believe are not aligned with our core theology of love. I expect all people associated with the Church of the Nazarene – whether they are ordained or not – to place their allegiance with the God of love and see allegiance to the Church of the Nazarene as secondary. God and denomination are not identical.

I would also expect people who disagree with the Covenant of Christian Conduct to do so respectfully. And to be discerning in how they disagree. I don’t claim to have always been wise, but I feel good about most of my speech and activities. I commit myself to working for change in wise and loving ways. I aim to love in word and deed.

The Process of Change in the Church of the Nazarene

In 2007, I gave a plenary paper at Northwest Nazarene University’s Wesley Center Conference. The paper was titled, “Revisioning Article X: Fifteen Changes in the Church of the Nazarene's Article on Entire Sanctification.” In my presentation and the paper that circulated widely thereafter, I suggested both major and minor changes to the denomination’s views on sanctification.

No one brought me up on charges. No one thought I was a heretic or was teaching false doctrine when I suggested fifteen changes to the article widely regarded as the denomination’s distinctive doctrine. In fact, many fellow scholars applauded my suggestions, while suggesting changes of their own or noting differences in nuance. An official denominational committee formed soon thereafter, and years later, several of my suggested changes occurred.

Before this event, I suggested a change to Article I in the Manual, the article on the doctrine of God. I suggested we should add a statement about God’s love. My suggestion made its way through the system and now is part of the official statement. Again, no one brought me up on charges for thinking the Articles of Faith needed changing.

To be clear, I’m not claiming I alone orchestrated these changes to the Manual. Others played key roles; it takes a community. But I bring up these examples to note that even with the Articles of Faith—which are widely thought essential rather than nonessential like the Covenant of Christian Conduct—differences of opinion can lead to changes in denomination’s official views. Someone—or many someones—initiates conversations leading to those changes.

It’s also important to note that not all of my proposed changes were accepted. But no one said, “the new Manual doesn’t reflect everything Tom suggested, so he should leave.” Nor did I feel compelled to abandon the denomination. Apparently, differences of opinion are acceptable for the Articles of Faith. How much more should a difference of opinion be acceptable to the denomination’s Covenant of Christian Conduct? While Covenant issues are important, they are not essential.

Far better to follow the advice of Phineas Bresee and many others: “On essentials, we seek unity. On nonessentials, we allow freedom. In all things, we seek to love.”

How Does Change Come?

According to the polls I’ve cited and my experience, a huge number of Church of the Nazarene members agree with me. Probably hundreds of thousands. But the majority do not. Some districts or world regions are more “progressive” on this issue. But the majority currently does not think like me and many, many others.

If the change I want to see is to become a reality, how will that occur? What brings people to change their minds about LGBTQ people and issues to endorse views like mine?

Most people who change their minds do not suddenly realize the few biblical passages that directly pertain to same-sex relations don’t apply today. Change rarely comes through biblical argumentation, as important as Scripture is.

Change comes when people we know well – our children, best friends, or family members – “come out” as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or something similar. Close relationships also lead many to realize LGBTQ identity, attractions, and behaviors can be healthy and loving. A growing number of members of the Church of the Nazarene are experiencing these perspective-changing encounters with family and friends.

Others change their minds on issues of human sexuality when they spend time with LGBTQ Christians who love like Jesus. These people may not be family members or friends, but they clearly live lives of love. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” says the adage, and the proof is that many LGBTQ people live fruitful lives of the Spirit. They are transformed into the image of the invisible God.

When I think of those people in my own life, friends like Alicia, Carol, Cindy, David, Dwayne, Flora, Fraser, Gary, Isaac, John, Jordan, Lisa, Manuel, Matthew, Michael, Monica, Scott, Susie, Tim, Tyler, and more come to mind. LGBTQ people show evidence of the gifts of ministry, pastoral leadership, and general good works in the world.

Still others change their minds on intellectual grounds. That’s how I changed my mind. Through a study of scripture, theology, science, and more, some people come to realize traditional binary views of human sexuality do not apply to all people. It’s no minor point that the consensus opinion in psychology and other human sciences is that LGBTQ behavior can be healthy and life-giving. Scientific consensus is on the side of people who think like me about LGBTQ issues. Those who point to examples of LGBTQ misbehavior – e.g., abuse, promiscuity, unsafe sex – often fail to note this misbehavior also occurs among heterosexuals.

What won’t happen is that every single member of the Church of the Nazarene awakes one morning and simultaneously says, “we should change the statement on human sexuality and marriage today.” Instead, change takes time. In the beginning, there are a few dissenters. Momentum builds. And eventually, the majority see the need to alter official statements. It’s a process, and if the statistics I offered and my experiences are correct, the Church of the Nazarene is changing its views on LGBTQ issues.

In fact, change is already here. It’s just that many members of the Church of the Nazarene are afraid to make the public statements I make. They know negative repercussions will probably come if they speak out or ask for civil conversation. But I predict many will become more vocal in the coming days. The issues at the heart of my case are likely to grow in importance.

Where Should We Go From Here?

I know the decisions this Intermountain District committee makes carry real and widespread consequences. If the committee endorses and wholeheartedly affirms what I say, those who believe traditional views about sexuality and marriage will be angry. Some may leave the denomination.

If the committee rejects what I say and votes to take my license, those who want change will be angry. Pastors and laity will leave the Church of the Nazarene. Others will go into hiding, fearing that speaking out will mean their trial and dismissal. Rejecting the way forward I have proposed – opening up a conversation about accepting people with LGBTQ identity, orientation, and loving sexual behaviors – means more Nazarene youth will leave.

It’s not too dramatic to say the denomination’s future vitality is at stake.

I trust that those hearing my case will find my theological views within the spectrum of viable interpretations of the Articles of Faith. I certainly think they are, and so do many others.

Ideally, the committee would join me in seeking changes in the statement on Marriage and Human Sexuality. Even if committee members do not take a proactive approach to make changes, I hope they see the Covenant of Christian Conduct as a nonessential document. There is room for those who in good conscience and in the name of love disagree with the denomination’s statement on marriage and human sexuality.

I hope the committee will also see the need for open conversations about LGBTQ issues. People want to speak freely and without fear of dismissal from their leadership roles or the denomination. My case could spark healthy discussions.

Above all, I hope this committee will stand for what, in my mind, is the way of love.

Rev. Dr. Thomas Jay Oord (January 2022)

Questions for Dr. Thomas Jay Oord

  1. Do you affirm and support the statement in the Nazarene manual on Human Sexuality and Marriage (31)?

If not, what areas are of concern for you and why?

If yes, help us understand how your statements in the evidence (Exhibit 1 & 4) and your personal beliefs about human sexuality are in harmony or are not in harmony with the doctrine of the COTN? Specifically, your comments stating:

  1. “I am one among those who thinks it (homosexual activity) is not always sinful” (Exhibit 1)
  2. When asked the question: "Should Ministers of the COTN should be allowed to marry LGBTQ couples?” You responded: “Yes on the first.” Do you believe Nazarene ministers should be allowed to perform same-sex ceremonies? If you were asked to do a same-sex ceremony, would you do it? In your view, would performing a same-sex ceremony be a violation of the COTN beliefs and be cause for surrendering of ordination credentials? How are your publicly stated views and opinions concerning same-sex marriages consistent and in accord with the COTN statements on human sexuality?
  3. What do you mean by “full inclusion” with your view and stance on same-sex sexuality? (Exhibit 1: “I am in favor of full inclusion of LGBTQ people…") For which of the following roles are you in favor of a same-sex sexually active person being eligible to serve in the Church of the Nazarene? As an Ordinated minister? As a non-ordained minister? As a member? In an elected Leadership position? As a lay teacher? As an attender? Other? Does your position on “full inclusion” also include marriage ceremonies bless and sanctioned by the COTN?
  4. Do you affirm and support Articles 1-16 in the Nazarene manual?

If not, what areas are of concern for you and why?

If yes, how do you deal with any discrepancies between your teaching (in public comments, blog posts, conference speaking engagements, etc.) and your harmonious support of the COTN Articles of Faith?

  1. Help us understand your statements on the certainty in the existence of God and your understanding of Articles 1, 2 and 3.
  2. Specifically, you say in a blog “But I’m not 100% sure God exists...” (footnote 9 on pg. 5 of accusation document). Are you now certain in the existence of God as stated in Article 1, 2 and 3?
  3. Exhibit 5 “I know few scholars who think the only people who can rightly self-identify as Christians are those who think Jesus is God.” Are you one of those scholars? If so, help us understand how someone can be a Christian without believing that Jesus is God. (Article 2)
  4. Do you remember or have documentation on the conversation in Exhibit 5 with Michael McElyea? His comment states that you told Michael that “you told me that you do not even believe that Jesus is God Himself.” Does this comment accurately reflect what you said and what you believe personally? Or what did you mean by that implied statement? Do you believe that Jesus is God as stated in Article 2?
  5. How do you differentiate your personal beliefs and role as an ordained minister in the COTN and your role as a teacher in the COTN? What responsibility do you have as a Nazarene minister supporting the COTN and respecting the office of an ordained elder for the public/online statements that you make? How do your public/online statements and teachings demonstrate that you are in hearty accord with the statements of the COTN on human sexuality?

Rev. Dr. Thomas Jay Oord

(January 2022)

Manny Silva
Stand For Truth Ministries

"The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." Psalm 119:160

 

Posts From Lighthouse Trails Research Newsletter

The Radical Inclusive CATHOLIC Church

Irish of a traditional bent need not apply.

BY WILLIAM KILPATRICK

SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-radical-inclusive-church/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Most practicing Catholics will have noticed by now that the Church under Francis has changed.  And many are not happy with the changes.

For example, Andrea Cianci, author of a new book that questions the validity of Francis’s election, says that Francis’s objective is to “demolish Catholicism.” But it’s not only Francis that traditional Catholics worry about. His plans for the dismantling of the Church are being implemented by a small army of prelates who are, in essence, Francis clones.

Right now, Francis and his supporters are utilizing the Synod on Synodality as the main engine for transforming the Church into something new and strange. Conservative critics of the synod claim that it is a “hostile takeover of the Church,” an “exercise in self-destructive behavior,” and an “open revolution.” This may seem extreme, but many of Francis’s words and actions reveal a man who is deeply hostile to the Catholic Church—a Church that he considers “rigid,” “fundamentalist,” “exclusivist,” and very much in need of opening up. Moreover, those who are running the Synod share his sentiments.

In reality, the Church has been opening up ever since the pontificate of John XXIII, but much of what the Church of Francis is engaged in is not simply an opening up of the Church, but a rejection of it.  Church leaders are already in the process of rejecting the Church’s teaching on marriage, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, gender, divorce, polygamy, clerical celibacy, and women’s ordination. To the extent that they are opening the Church, they are opening it to people who dissent from Church teaching on these and other matters.

Perhaps because they realize they are already firmly in control, the “woke” prelates have become quite open about what they plan to do.  For example, the Vatican has just released a new document for the Synod on Synodality which calls for “a Church capable of radical inclusion.”

The 44-page document is entitled “Enlarge the space of your tent,” but the tent doesn’t seem to have much space for traditional Catholic beliefs and practices.  Rather it encourages dialogue with “those who, for various reasons, feel a tension between belonging to the Church and their own loving relationship, such as remarried divorcees, single parents, people living in a polygamous marriage, LGBTQ people, etc.”

“Polygamous marriage?”  One wonders what’s included in “etc.”  In any event, this new inclusive model is being suggested as the model the Church should embrace.  But don’t assume that the plan is to help the “marginalized” (i.e., adulterers, LGBTQ, etc.) to conform their lives to Church teaching.  Rather, the plan is to conform the Church’s teachings to the “lived experience” of the marginalized.

“Radical inclusion” sounds vaguely Christian, but it is actually a plan for demolishing the Church—as the word “radical” implies. The word brings to mind images of the radical French Revolution, the radical Russian Revolution, and the radical Sexual Revolution. All three resulted in enormous damage to the societies involved, yet the Synod documents often speak the language of revolutionary change. Moreover, the Synod fathers seem anxious to bless the Sexual Revolution and bring it fully into the Church. “Radical” is not usually thought of as a term of praise, but that’s the way it was used by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Relator General of the Synod, in a recent interview with L’Osservatore Romano. Hollerich praised Pope Francis for being “not a liberal” but a “radical.”

Most Catholics don’t keep up with recent issues of L’Osservatore Romano or with the latest Vatican document. So, relatively few are aware of the radical nature of the changes being proposed in the synods. Perhaps the most prominent synodal theme is “inclusion,” and the promise that no one is excluded. But when the Synod fathers say “no one is excluded,” it should give us pause.  Do they also mean “no sins are excluded?”  Do they mean that no repentance is required? The numerous synod documents suggest that what progressive Catholics want is an inclusive community without rules—a place where each follows his or her own inner guidance.

But workable communities that last do have rules and, in order to survive, they tend to exclude those who won’t follow the rules.  One supposes, for example, that a good number of bishops belong to a golf club.  And it’s a good bet they know and observe the rules of the club.  If a bishop drives his golf cart in a reckless way after several drinks and several warnings, he can expect to be excluded from the club.  He can claim that the club has “marginalized” him, but in reality, he has marginalized himself.

One might counter by observing that the Church is not a golf club. It follows a different—more merciful– set of rules. Cardinal Hollerich has said as much: “[The] Kingdom of God is not an exclusive club.” Rather, he says, its doors are open “to everyone without discrimination.” “This,” said Hollerich, “is simply about affirming that Christ’s message is for everyone.”

All Christians can agree that Christ’s message is for everyone. But most would want “everyone” to hear the full message of Christ, not a highly redacted version. If you read the full message of Christ on the subject of entrance into the Kingdom of God, you would not, contra Hollerich, get the impression that it’s open “to everyone without discrimination.” Not by a long shot.

Take Matthew 25:31-46—the parable about the sheep and the goats. On Judgment Day, “[The King] will separate the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.” He then invites the sheep to inherit the kingdom, but the goats are sent away “into eternal punishment.”

I don’t know about you, but that sounds discriminatory to me. And frightening as well. Thank Heaven for purgatory.

Christ also discriminates on several occasions in favor of wheat over weeds (or chaff): “Let both grow together until the harvest and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Mt.13:30).

In another parable, he tells his disciples: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men…sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad” (Mt. 13:47-48).

Lest there be any misunderstanding, Jesus then explains: “So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire” (Mt. 13 49-50).

The meaning of these parables seems clear, yet Christ tells several other parables with the same message.  In one parable, he tells of five wise maidens who, having made proper preparations, are admitted to a wedding feast; and of five foolish maidens who, having failed to make sufficient preparations, are excluded from the feast.

In another parable about a wedding feast, a guest without a wedding garment is cast out the door: “Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness…For many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt. 22: 13-14).

Hollerich may say that the Kingdom of God is open “to everyone without discrimination,” but the Gospels seem to be saying something different.  Hollerich says, in effect, “come as you are,” but Jesus advises us to come wearing a wedding suit (i.e., in a state of grace.) Although well-acquainted with the merciful sayings of Jesus, Hollerich, and Francis seem to ignore his more judgmental warnings.

Quite obviously, the words of Jesus are an obstacle to the synodal plans of Hollerich, Francis, and others in the hierarchy.  Quite obviously, Jesus will have to go if the synodalists hope to achieve their goals.  Expect him to gradually disappear from the new radically inclusive Church.  Either that or expect him to be transformed to better fit the jolly theology of Cardinal Hollerich who tells us that “living in the footsteps of Christ means living well, it means enjoying life.”

In short, expect Jesus to be transformed into some kind of happy genderless hippie who utters woke platitudes and announces the good news that your sins aren’t really sins at all.  He just wants you to be happy doing whatever makes you feel good.

It is, of course, a formula for disaster. Canon Lawyer Rev. Gerald F. Murray calls it “a self-destructive Synod.”  He notes some of the signs of decline in the Church we have already seen under Francis: “lack of priestly vocations in the developed world; the steep decline in Mass attendance, baptisms, and Church weddings…the collapse of religious orders and the rejection of doctrinal fidelity.”

One doesn’t have to look far to find signs of doctrinal infidelity.  Here in the U.S., LGBTQ activist priest Fr. James Martin has asserted that LGBT Christians are not bound by the rule of chastity.  And in formerly Catholic Ireland, an elderly priest was recently suspended by his bishop for speaking of the sinfulness of certain sexual activities.

The priest, Fr. Sean Sheehy, said he was simply stating what was in the Gospel. But that’s the problem, isn’t it?  Fr. Murray says the Synod is “self-destructive.”  But it’s only self-destructive if the intention of the Synod is to preserve and strengthen the Church founded by Christ and revealed to Christians in the gospels.  If the intention of the Synod fathers (along with Pope Francis) is to replace the Church of Christ with a humanistic/modernist Church with all the supernatural elements purged out, then the Synod has thus far been a roaring success for them—if not for the rest of us.

It’s possible that the Synod organizers are genuinely well-intentioned.  Perhaps they think that by downplaying immorality and by convincing Catholics to “take it easy on yourself,” Catholics will shake off their burden of guilt and lead happier healthier lives.  But previous attempts at relaxing the rules while ignoring the supernatural dimension of life—such as the Sexual Revolution—eventually resulted in making life harder not easier.

Should the Synod fathers succeed in convincing Catholics that sin is not sinful, the destructive, addictive, and family-wrecking effects of sin will still be at work—both in individual lives and throughout society. The Synod leaders may succeed in bringing about a radical change in the Church, but because of their naivete about human nature, the changes will inexorably lead to widespread unhappiness and despair.

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William Kilpatrick

William Kilpatrick is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. His books include Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West, What Catholics Need to Know About Islam, and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad.

‘It is absurd to remove crucifixes from our classrooms, while entire neighborhoods have been taken over by sharia’

Italian politician Giorgia Meloni: “I don’t believe we ought to hide our identity, in order to respect others. Which is what leftists believe. It is paradoxical to remove crucifixes from our classrooms while accepting that entire European neighborhoods have been taken over by Islamic sharia. I don’t get it, honestly.”

Read the full story at RAIR Foundation USA: 

https://rairfoundation.com/giorgia-meloni-it-is-absurd-to-remove-crucifixes-from-classrooms-while-islam-has-taken-over-neighborhoods/

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

BY AMY MEK

“Fatherland is fundamental, Family is fundamental, and religious identity is also fundamental.”

During a debate on an Italian talk show, the leader of the anti-mass immigration party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) and a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Giorgia Meloni, defended her party’s support of the famous motto, God, Country, and Family. Italy’s former left-wing Prime Minster, Enrico Letta, believes the concept is outdated. Meloni, however, stressed, “Fatherland is fundamental, Family is fundamental, and religious identity is also fundamental.”

“Look, I consider myself a conservative. Let’s not forget that the motto “God, Fatherland, and Family” was thought up by Mazzini. I don’t think it clashes with modernity. What does that mean? It means to defend an identity, which is the identity of our society, a European identity,” explained Meloni.

She continued, “It means that the family is the founding core of our society, the most important social safety net we have. It means that the fatherland is the identity that brings us together.”

Meloni also spoke of the importance of Christians being proud and open about their identities:

I don’t believe we ought to hide our identity, in order to respect others. Which is what leftists believe. It is paradoxical to remove crucifixes from our classrooms, while accepting that entire European neighborhoods have been taken over by Islamic sharia. I don’t get it, honestly.

The leader, predicted to become Italy’s next prime minister under a new conservative coalition government, reminded the audience that “Christian values have molded our civilization.”

 

Sending Your Child to a Christian College?-Look Out for Words You Thought You Would Never Hear!

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2022/newsletter20220912.htm;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Two years ago, Lighthouse Trails posted an article titled “Christian Colleges and Seminaries in More Trouble Than Ever as Many Plunge Into Emergent Spirituality.” As Christian parents are preparing to send their high-school graduate kids to Christian colleges and universities this coming fall, we hope that the article (posted below) will provide a desperately needed warning. And in fact, now that contemplative schools have turned “woke” and progressive, that warning is more needed than ever. You may send your sweet child of faith to one of these schools only to watch in horror as his or her faith is turned upside down in a short period of time, and he or she may come home during a semester break and tell you the words you never thought you would hear, “Hey Mom and Dad, I am now an atheist, and I don’t believe what the Bible says anymore!”

The article:

For nearly 18 years, Lighthouse Trails has been reporting on the slide that evangelical colleges, universities, and seminaries have been taking into the contemplative/emergent/ecumenical river. It would be great if we could say there’s been a real turnaround and things at these colleges are getting better. It would be great if we could say that your college-age child is safe in most Christian colleges today. And it would be great if we could say that these schools have realized the error of their ways and have made dramatic efforts to get back on the biblical course. Unfortunately, we cannot say any of these things because they simply are not true.

We were once again reminded of how far off the track evangelical schools have gone when earlier this month we received an e-blast from Christianity Today announcing 50%-off tuition special for qualifying students to Seattle Pacific University. That will sound very enticing to parents who are looking for Christian education for their college-age children at affordable rates. But let’s take a glance at what these children will be introduced to if they attend Seattle Pacific University:

At SPU’s Center for Biblical and Theological Education, students will be introduced to various forms of contemplative spirituality, and faculty members are being trained to pass them on. For instance, in a 2019 faculty retreat syllabus, the list of activities at the retreat includes Lectio divina, praying with icons, sabbath keeping, Ignatian Spirituality, and Prayer of Examen. At the upcoming 2020 Winter Discernment Weekend, prospective students will be introduced to “Guided Prayer” and Lectio Divina. “Spiritual Formation” and contemplative spirituality are integrated throughout the spiritual infrastructure of SPU. Faculty Staff Bulletins are peppered with recommendations and accolades for Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and numerous other hard-core mystics and panentheists.

In addition to the heavily contemplative element at SPU, you will find promotion for all things emergent such as “critical race theory” (a Marxist-leaning ideology) and the so-called “social-justice gospel” (with recommendations for social justice leaders such as Shane Claiborne and SoJourners).

For anyone who understands contemplative spirituality, these things we are sharing won’t come as a surprise because contemplative prayer is the gateway ‘drug,” so to speak, to all things emergent, socialist, Marxist, New Age, and anti-morality. And if there is one thing we hope to get across in this article, it is this: A very large number of Christian higher education institutions are now exhibiting signs that they are being influenced and directed by emergent ideologies, and many of these same schools are the ones we warned about years ago as they started down the contemplative path; the inevitable “fruit” of contemplative prayer is a drastic change in spiritual outlook (i.e., no longer resembling biblical Christianity; i.e., now emergent).

Lancaster Bible College in PA, one of the schools that have been on the Lighthouse Trails Contemplative College List for several years, continues down the contemplative path going deeper and deeper into the emergent world. For a convincing example, their Formational Leadership Master of Arts Degree program is taught by contemplative/emergent/Replacement Theology/New Missiology leader Wayne Cordiero. (More information on this program).

Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho continues incorporating emergent beliefs into the lives of its students. Some of our readers may remember our 2010 story titled “Buddhist/Universalist Sympathizer Woos Nazarene Students at NNU.” Most Nazarene universities had already been seduced by Catholic contemplative mystic Brennan Manning by then, and so bringing in a Buddhist/universalist sympathizer to NNU was just following contemplative protocol, which they have continued to do.

A few examples of NNU’s current status are the following: In the THEO4900 Religion Capstone course, The Living Reminder by Catholic mystic Henri Nouwen is one of two required textbooks. A graduate course titled COUN6594A Mindfulness Approaches uses Mindfulness and Psychotherapy for its textbook. Another graduate course (YCFM6730 Missional Ministry) uses these four textbooks— Celtic Way of Evangelism, Future Faith, Kingdom Come, and Creating a Missional Culture. In Creating a Missional Culture, the author introduces the reader to Jurgen Moltmann, Karl Barth, Marcus Borg, and several others of the same caliber (these three men are heroes of the emergent movement). In these NNU textbooks, you find the path to emergent, “progressive,” socialist, New Age “Christianity”—something that has become the hallmark for Nazarene universities today. If you attend a Nazarene church, and that church is looking for a new pastor, it would be a good idea to find out how much of his seminary/university training rubbed off on him because you can be sure, he’ll be bringing it to your church.

In 2013, we released our special report titled An Epidemic of Apostasy – How Christian Seminaries Must Incorporate “Spiritual Formation” to Become Accredited, documenting how contemplative spirituality was entering Christian colleges at an alarming rate. Fast forward to today, and many of these schools are hardly recognizable from where they were just seven years ago.

In this relatively short article, we have provided examples of just three schools. But we could give countless more other schools that began opening their doors to the contemplative element, and now are becoming full-fledged emergent schools.

When we started warning about the contemplative movement entering the church through the evangelical colleges, seminaries, and universities back in the early part of this present millennium, our warnings were brushed off and dismissed by many Christian leaders. Today, some of these same leaders are being vocal against the left-leaning, anti-God, socialistic condition of this country. But they either don’t realize or don’t care that the early contemplative pioneers that they embraced twenty-plus years ago brought that very same mindset into the church through contemplative prayer. And now, as older pastors are retiring or passing away, the new younger pastors, trained in the colleges and seminaries, have become evangelists for this anti-Gospel, anti-biblical worldview.

The Calvinist Factor

For the editors at Lighthouse Trails, and for many of our readers, we are not surprised that this paradigm shift has occurred. We have witnessed the terrible apathy and indifference by Christian leaders and many pastors for nearly 18 years. Not only has there been apathy and indifference, but there has been hostility and anger. Just last week, a pastor in Oregon who had been placed on our Christian leaders and pastors' booklet mailing list (at the request of one of our readers) called and told us to remove him from the list. He then proceeded to list off about a dozen adjectives to describe us including pugnacious, slanderous, and hateful.

We were curious about this pastor’s church and checked it out on the Internet. It was a Calvinist-promoting church. One reason we have experienced a new level of anger by some pastors and leaders is because of the book we published in 2018 warning about Calvinism (Calvinism: None Dare Call it Heresy). And this brings us to something that needs to be said in this article with regard to the direction evangelical colleges, universities, and seminaries have headed: Many Christian colleges and universities are now embracing or are in the process of embracing Calvinism and Reformed Theology.

This presents a different set of serious problems, in one respect. But as we have stated in other articles, and wholeheartedly believe based on what we have observed, many young people trained in or drawn into Calvinism end up emergent or leaving the faith altogether (such as in the case of the recent departure from the faith by I Kissed Dating Goodbye author Josh Harris).

Aside from the colleges that have historically been Calvinist and Reformed (e.g., The Master’s Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Calvin College), new ones are continually getting on board with Calvinism. A perfect example of this is Bob Jones University (historically the antithesis of a Calvinist school), which now has a Calvinist president. And then there is the Southern Baptist Convention. We estimate that as many as half of the Southern Baptist colleges and universities are now Calvinist leaning. One caller, who is a longstanding SBC member that has been in leadership positions, told us that almost all the SBC universities are now Calvinist or Calvinist influenced. A 2007 Christian Post article titled “Calvinism on the Rise” stated: “Nearly 30 percent of recent SBC seminary graduates now serving as church pastors indicate they are Calvinists.” This statistic was based on data presented at the 2006 SBC “Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism” conference. We believe that percentage is much higher today because of the increase in Calvinism in schools. And if our theory is right that many young Calvinists will eventually become emergent or defect the faith (sometimes because they cannot handle the dismal beliefs of John Calvin and Calvinism and sometimes because they haven’t found a personal relationship with Christ through Calvinism), then the outcome is going to be disastrous.

CONCLUSION

Either way, you look at it, Christian/evangelical colleges, universities, and seminaries are in trouble. And if they are in trouble, then so are our churches because the schools are producing today’s and tomorrow’s pastors and leaders.

Our exhortation to parents and grandparents is to carefully and prayerfully choose the schools your children and grandchildren will attend. The pickings are getting slimmer every day, but your choices can potentially have eternal consequences or eternal blessings. Please don’t take it lightly.


Editor’s Note: If you know of a young person who attends or who plans to attend a Christian college, university, or seminary, please consider asking him or her to read Castles in the Sand or A Time of Departing. If you cannot afford to get one of these books, write to us at editors@lighthousetrails.com, and we will send a free copy for you to give to that college-age person. If you are wondering why we have so much concern about this, read an article we wrote in 2013 titled “Want Your Child to Become an Atheist? – Send Him to LeTourneau University in Texas (or Any Other Contemplative/Emergent School For That Matter).” It’s a true story, and tragically, it is happening too often.

2022 Note: Since writing the above article in 2020, we have posted several letters to the editor from parents and grandparents regarding their personal experiences with children attending Christian schools:

Letter to the Editor: Liberty University Taking Students on “Spiritual Journey” With Contemplative/Emergent Leader Richard Foster

Letter to the Editor: To All Parents of Students Considering Attending Gordon College

Letter to the Editor: “Christian” Professor Finds “Warm Welcome” at Wheaton College to Teach and Promote Critical Race Theory

A Parent’s Summary of the Spread of Critical Race Theory At Gordon College

Letter to the Editor: I Discovered the Christian College I Was Attending Was “Woke”!

Letter to the Editor: Diana Butler Bass and Westmont College Steered Daughter Away From the Faith

Letter to the Editor: Christian Colleges Destroyed Children’s Faith While Those Who Chose Other Career Training Still Walking With the Lord

“‘Christian’College Now Giving Students Pronoun Options”

(Photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission; design by Lighthouse Trails)

Stacey Abrams Says Her Faith Reinforces Her Abortion Support

Marjorie Taylor Greene on Stacey Abrams:

"Wants to be 'President of Earth,' more like 'Death Star.'"

Gov. Kemp slams Stacey Abrams as Georgia gubernatorial race heats up

Georgia's Stacey Abrams pressed on abortion, defunding the police

Stacey Abrams Says She's Pro-Abortion Because She's a Christian

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2022/08/06/stacey-abrams-says-shes-pro-abortion-because-shes-a-christian-n1618945;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Left loves to gaslight us, and who could do it better than Georgia’s farther-Left-than-Stalin supermodel and shadow governor Stacey Abrams? On Wednesday, Yahoo News published a new interview with the perennial media darling and renowned theologian, in which she explained that her relentless support for abortion right up until the moment of birth and maybe after that is animated by her Christian faith. You see? You conservative rubes thought that Christianity stood for the sanctity of life from the moment of conception! Aren’t we all lucky to have Stacey Abrams to make it clear to us that it really endorses the Left’s irrepressible desire to offer sacrifices to Moloch?

Abrams, Yahoo informs us, says that “her own religious faith has reinforced her pro-abortion-rights views.” Abrams intones sagely: “Abortion is a medical decision,” and you’ve got to admit, she’s got a point. Whatever else it is, it’s a medical decision, just as is the decision to give someone a lethal injection or strap him to a seat in a gas chamber. But apparently aware of how reductionist and simplistic that was, the supermodel plowed on: “It is also a decision that women make because they are not ready to be mothers… My responsibility as a legislator is to make certain that we allow doctors and nurses and medical professionals to make medical decisions and that politicians stay out of it.”

This is a common Leftist talking point: abortion is just a simple medical procedure with no moral evaluation, akin to a woman deciding to get cosmetic surgery. It’s entirely her decision, based on whether or not she is “ready to be a mother,” and that’s that. The overwhelming scientific evidence that the child in the womb is just that, a child, alive and growing and quite genetically distinct from the mother, means nothing to the “Believe the Science” crowd. Abortion advocates persistently pretend that such evidence does not exist, as if it were 1222, not 2022, and no one was actually sure when human life begins (just as no one in the smart set is sure what a woman is).

But Abrams explains that it isn’t science, but her Christian faith, that makes her pro-abortion. She is, Yahoo tells us, “the daughter of two retired United Methodist pastors,” and who could know more about Christianity than the daughter of not one, but two pastors in a church that has been widely derided as the Democrat Party at Prayer? Abrams “said her religious views are not incompatible with her belief that abortion should remain legal in states like Georgia.” See, for the Left, nothing is ever what it seems, especially religions. Islam, despite the Qur’an’s repeated exhortations to kill or subjugate unbelievers, is a religion of peace, and Christianity, regardless of its repeated avowals of the sanctity of life even in the womb (cf. Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:4-5, etc.), is actually pro-abortion.

Related: Two-Faced Abrams Calls for Raises for Cops While on ‘Defund the Police’ Board

Abrams says this is because, above all, a Christian should never, ever, impose his or her beliefs on anyone else: “While your faith tradition may tell you that you personally do not want to make that choice, it is not my right as a Christian to impose that value system on someone else. Because the value that should overhang everything is the right to make our own decisions, the free will that the God I believe in gave us.”

Of course! Leftists are free to impose their value systems upon us ad nauseam, with drag queens in primary schools, school lunch funding withheld from schools that refuse to play along with transgender madness, and all the rest of it, but Christians must never dare to impose their views in any way, shape, or form. Note also her bland assumption — and here again, this is a common Leftist talking point — that opposition to abortion is solely motivated by religious conviction. Leftists steadfastly and universally ignore the scientific evidence regarding human life in the womb.

So Stacey Abrams, that most pious of Christian supermodels, supports abortion because God gave us free will. We also have the free will to kill, steal, and more, but never mind. This is one of the Left’s rising stars. This is one of the Left’s most formidable intellects. That’s why the Left has such an increasingly open taste for authoritarianism. They know they can’t win a rational debate with intellectual firepower of this embarrassingly poor quality.

Biden Moves to Protect America’s National Religion

“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech.”
Leviticus 18:21

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying…whosoever giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death…because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.”
Leviticus 20:1-3

“…that no man might make his son or daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.”
II kings 23:10

SEE: https://restoreamerica.org/2019/03/03/the-democrat-worship-of-molech/

Picture

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2022/08/04/biden-moves-to-protect-americas-national-religion-n1618364;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Old Joe Biden’s handlers are pulling out all the stops to keep the sacrifices to Moloch going. On Wednesday, Old Joe signed an executive order that he said, “helps women travel out of state for medical care.” Biden added that Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra “is going to work with states through Medicaid to allow them to provide reproductive healthcare for women who live in states where — where abortions are being banned in that state.” The alleged president added proudly that “just yesterday in Idaho, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit to make sure that pregnant women facing serious threats to their health can get the medical care they need in Medicare-funded emergency rooms.” Abortion, it seems, must be protected and fostered at all costs, and it’s easy to see why: it’s a central element of our established religion, woke Leftism.

The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” but make no mistake: we do have an established religion in the United States today. Wokeism, including sexual confusion, contempt for masculinity, erasure of femininity, hatred of children (hence the focus on abortion), and obsession with racism real and imagined (mostly the latter), is the religion that the U.S. government promotes today.

Evidence of our national religion is everywhere. There are pride flags at U.S. embassies around the world, openly “gender fluid” and transgender government officials, and fulsome praise for Leftist societal and sexual fads from officials at the highest levels, including the President of the United States himself. One thing that has become clear during the unhappy time that Joe Biden has pretended to be president is that an established religion, like religion itself, is inescapable: everyone has a religion, and every state has a state religion. Just as individuals who insist that they are atheists have some central focus and guiding force and principle in their lives — that is, something that takes the place and serves the purpose of a religion — so governments all endorse and even impose certain values. The ones ours promotes, of course, are all bad.

Biden’s handlers moved decisively to impose our established religion back on May 5, the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced that it was planning to “interpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex found in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program (7 USC § 2011 et seq.), to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” This new interpretation would mean that “state and local agencies, program operators and sponsors that receive funds from FNS must investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Those organizations must also update their non-discrimination policies and signage to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.” This Biden policy required schools that received federal funding for lunch programs to endorse and promote transgenderism, including allowing biological men to use women’s bathrooms. If any school refused to comply, it would be denied federal funds.

Related: Thank Abortion Radicalism for Roe v. Wade Being Overturned

That Agriculture Department decree was just one example of a myriad of ways in which Biden’s handlers were pushing the woke agenda upon the American people. On June 15, Old Joe signed what his administration called a “historic executive order” that was designed to aid in “advancing LGTBQI+ equality during Pride Month.” The White House press office stated proudly: “President Biden believes that no one should face discrimination because of who they are or whom they love. Since President Biden took office, he has championed the rights of LGBTQI+ Americans and people around the world, accelerating the march towards full equality.” To this end, the White House announced plans to end “conversion therapy,” that is, efforts to convince young people not to be homosexual, or even to convince those suffering gender confusion that they should not seek to alter themselves through surgery and pharmaceuticals so that they could pretend to be a member of the opposite sex.

The White House proudly explained that “as a candidate, President Biden pledged to help end so-called ‘conversion therapy’ — a discredited and dangerous practice that seeks to suppress or change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQI+ people. Today, President Biden is using his executive authority to launch an initiative to protect children across America and crack down on this harmful practice, which every major medical association in the United States has condemned.” This opened the possibility that those who tried to fight the prevailing gender fantasy and madness could face criminal prosecution.

Old Joe, or the shadowy figures who are actually making the decisions in his administration, was once again moving to protect America’s established religion, rewarding the orthodox and punishing the heretical and their institutions in ways that would make the heresy less appealing and put it on the road to extinction.

The most obvious objection to this scenario, of course, is that secular (and, indeed, God-hating) Leftism isn’t generally recognized as a religion at all. Nevertheless, it very much is one, as can be seen all over, for instance in the transgender pronoun fantasies and hunt for heretics who dare to “misgender” a particular fantasist and the fervor with which supporters of abortion vowed to fight against all restrictions to the practice after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

But since this secular ideology is not understood to be a religion, it is not seen as an established creed in violation of the First Amendment, as it would be in a sane polity. If it were, then the solution to it would also be found in the First Amendment, in the prohibition of such an establishment, and provisions such as school lunch money being withheld from schools that refused to indulge insane gender faddism would be seen as establishing a religion, and accordingly ended. So would federal promotion of abortion. But don’t watch for that to happen here.

Kamala Harris Goes Full Groomer, Wants LGBT Teachers to ‘Love Openly’ in Their Classrooms

BY MATT MARGOLIS

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2022/07/25/kamala-harris-goes-full-groomer-wants-lgbt-teachers-to-love-openly-in-their-classrooms-n1615558;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

It’s probably time for Kamala Harris to purge her communications staff again.

When you’re a parent, you send your kids to school thinking they’ll be taught the basics: reading, writing, math, history, and science, but if you’re Kamala Harris, you apparently want teachers to be talking about sexuality.

Below is a clip of Kamala Harris pushing the usual left-wing talking points about Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law — which she erroneously refers to as the “don’t say gay” bill.

If still calling it the “don’t say gay” bill was the worst thing she did, I’d probably have just ignored her completely, but what she said afterward was mind-blowing.

“We’re gonna stand up against a law that says ‘don’t say gay’ basically restricting kindergarten through third-grade teachers in Florida to be able to love openly and teach what they believe is important for people to understand.”

Oh, so Kamala Harris wants LGBTQ teachers to “love openly” their kindergarten through third-grade classes. Excuse me? I wouldn’t even want heterosexual teachers to do that. Why the hell does she?

She also wants these teachers to essentially boast about their sexuality and “what they believe” is important for kids to understand? Like graphic gay sex or the falsehood that men can become women or vice-versa?

Groomers in education have advocates in the White House — and that is truly terrifying.

____________________________________________________________________

SEE ALSO:

The Open Lust Kamala Wants in Your Kid’s Classroom

https://thenewamerican.com/the-open-lust-kamala-wants-in-your-kids-classroom/

Quisha King on Mass Exodus from Public Schools, Keeping America Free

There needs to be a mass exodus from government schools as part of the effort to restore and preserve freedom in the United States, mom and show host Quisha King--a heavyweight in Florida politics--told The New American magazine's Alex Newman in this episode of Conversations That Matter. King, who made national headlines by calling for a mass exodus and works with the group Moms for America, also revealed that she had an abortion--with all the pain that entails. She also blasts Critical Race Theory and other tools being used by the radical Left to divide and destroy America.

SEE: https://momsforamerica.us/#

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